1. It’s like an Analogy
“Creative communication can help, or hurt, our attempts to bridge the divide between technically or emotionally disparate audiences”
2. How Parents Can Model Better Screen Time Behavior for Their Kids
Most of us feel like we’re failing, at least at times, to manage the competing bids for attention that come from work, kids, partners and from our digital devices.
While she doesn’t want to come off as “judgy of parents,” Radesky and other experts shared four takeaways from the research that can guide parents who want to improve their relationships both with their kids and with technology.
3. Four Research-Based Strategies To Ignite Intrinsic Motivation In Students
“‘Research shows students who believe their school work is interesting and important are cognitively engaged in trying to understand the material,’ Laufenberg told the educators gathered. That also means they have intrinsic motivation, a quality many teachers complain students lack. So why aren’t all teachers ensuring every lesson plan engages students’ interests? Educators at EduCon were quick with their responses: it’s hard to tailor instruction to a diverse set of learners; it’s hard to convince learners of the long term benefits of their work when short term needs are more present; and of course, many teachers feel bound by curriculum, standards, and testing.”
4. Making Things We Know Will Disappear
“When kids decide to create something, a kind of magic happens – they just start creating it. They build and make and design all at once without hesitation or fear. The things break and fall down, and they just try again. Sometimes they “make” things just in the world of their imagination, creating elaborate landscapes or histories or machines or friends that never leave the world of pretend. They still throw themselves into that process without concern or shame.”
5. Using Scientific Pedagogy to Teach History
“In the same ways that students in a science class make observations about the natural world, history teachers can engage students’ curiosity in the human world through inquiry. Using a contemporary issue pulled from the headlines is a good starting point. Consider events that connect to the content, but also pay attention to the level of difficulty of a piece.”
6. What Students Gain From Learning Ethics in School
“Though sought after, ethics classes are largely absent from schools. Also, teachers’ freedom to migrate into wide-ranging conversations that might veer into ethics have been curbed by standardized testing and curriculum requirements. This is despite research that shows teenagers’ ability to make ethical decisions—to see problems from multiple view points, and to consider the potential harm to others that a decision can cause—is underdeveloped.”
